20/10/2026
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐤𝐲: 𝐀 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦
On October 17, LORMA Colleges in San Juan, La Union became a place where the universe could be touched, heard, smelled, tasted, and shared. It was the first program of its kind in the Philippines 🇵🇭
For a full day and night, Deaf, Blind, low-vision, and sighted participants explored astronomy together through experiences built for non-visual access, a first of its kind in the Philippines.
✨ Tactile solar system and constellation models
✨ Braille and raised-line star charts
✨ Sonification, real astronomical data rendered as sound
✨ Space food, a taste of how astronauts eat beyond Earth
✨ A meteorite exhibit, with pieces of space to hold in your hands
✨ The Smell of Jupiter, an olfactory take on the giant planet
✨ Filipino ethnoastronomy storytelling on Balatik
✨ An evening telescope session with live audio description
The program was held in celebration of World Space Week, World Blindness Awareness Month, and Design Week Philippines. It showed that the sky belongs to everyone, and that access to it is a matter of design.
Thank you to our organizers and partners:
Philippine Society of Space and Astronomy Research (PSSAR, Inc.)
HIRAYA Collective PH, Inc. (HIRAYA Collective for the Blind)
LORMA Colleges, Inc.
University of the Philippines Baguio Astronomy Society
Design Week Philippines
Design Center of the Philippines
Manila Street Astronomers
Balik Balatik
Rizal Technological University
Adamson University Star Lab
And to every participant, volunteer, and guide who made the night possible: thank you.
Sama All for Inclusive Astronomy! 🔭
Photo Credits: Lorma Schools and UPB AstroSoc
